Halloween a far away memory today
Published Monday November 3rd, 2008
By the time this column comes out on Monday, all the little ghosts, goblins and all manner of super heroes will have retired from their tricks at Halloween. Ignore the bigger tricksters who delight in creating road hazards for drivers. The night, regardless of origins, is for the children.
On Halloween night anticipation is high. Mothers have been sewing up the costumes. Children have been drooling at the thought of ALL THAT CANDY! And all have been planning their characters since last year. Apparently there will be many Mario's and Luigi's roaming the streets under the supervision of their parents.
What I love about the Miramichi is just how many people get into the fun. Since early October, pumpkins have been appearing on doorstops up and down the river. Recently they have morphed into hideous Jack O'Lanterns with glowing yellow eyes of every shape. I wondered what the Pumpkin Laureate had to say about the character of these pumpkins but I couldn't reach him for a comment. He may be out watching over the pumpkins.
You can tell that it isn't only children who love this night. Many parents have to be involved. Just look at the homes that are decorated with corpses, bones and fake blood and the bodies buried head first in the ground with only their boots showing.
My grandson Devin, in Waterloo, celebrates Halloween in a big way with his father and grandfather. Rather than canvassing for candy, they build a Haunted House complete with a maze and gruesome surprises that have most arrivals screaming. The louder they scream, the more Warren and John laugh. And when the kids come out gasping, "Don't go in there!" success is guaranteed. Most kids choose the maze for the fear factor and the great treats after.
Growing out of Halloween, size and age wise, was difficult for me. Like others, I planned to be so many things: a princess, a ghost, a gypsy, but most of all it had to be warm and so there were leggings often under my gypsy dancing skirt. I sulked when my mother told me I was too old and that I had to walk around to protect my siblings. I threatened to leave them if they didn't cough up half the take. They believed me and so I also carried a large empty purse for them to deposit the chocolate bars that could be, might be poison. . .
"Trick and Treat," I'd say to my mother and to three ticked-off sisters who tattled on me later.
Often I wish I could be a child again just to experience and eat the sheer volume of candy. Long, long, ago, as I tell my grandchildren, the prime treat was fudge and apples. How I treasured anything that came from a store. Now my tastes have reversed.
My theory on why Halloween continues to be a popular tradition is that most parents and yes, grandparents, still want to go out and loot every home for junk. The minute they have their own children, the realization comes that the candy is still available and can be carefully sorted for safety and well. . .the kids do all the work.
The wind and rain this week have cooperated to make Halloween night even scarier. Most of the leaves are down and swirling around in the wind. Several times this week I've been startled by the slap of a heavy maple leaf on my windshield. Until the adrenaline rush subsides, it first appears to be some creature staring you in the face. So behind the Trick or Treaters will come the scurry of what sounds like footprints and a rustling in the bushes; nature's participation in the night.
By the time you read this column, all that will be left from Halloween are sore tummies, hyperactive kids from all the candy and hopefully some good memories. But I suspect that the planning for next year begins with the discarding of costumes and the words, "Next year, I'll be a . . ."
The pumpkins will have been made into pies, the bodies dug up and sent to CSI.
Quite possibly, the first of the Christmas lights will be glowing.
Judy Bowman shares with us unique Miramichi stories about people and happenings.
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